The Donald Trump administration argued on the 22nd that the previous day’s airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities were necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The US also tried to block domestic concerns that the US could fall into the quagmire of past Middle Eastern wars like Iraq and Afghanistan by reiterating its position that it does not want regime change in Iran and is willing to negotiate.
In an interview with ABC News that day, Vice President JD Vance stated that he does not want war with Iran or regime change in Iran, and that “we are at war with Iran’s nuclear program.” He said he hoped Iran would take a “smart path” to dismantling its nuclear weapons program, warning that “if Iran decides to attack our troops or continue to try to build a nuclear weapon, we will respond with overwhelming force.”
Addressing concerns that the U.S. could be drawn into another protracted conflict in the Middle East, he said, “We have taken a very narrow and limited approach to destroying Iran’s nuclear program,” adding, “The president is more concerned about a protracted military conflict than anyone else.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also emphasized in a briefing that day that the operation was not a full-scale war, but a limited strike targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying, “We did not target Iranian forces or Iranian people.” “We are giving Iran every opportunity to come to the table by sending direct messages to Iran through multiple channels, both public and private,” Hegseth said. “They know exactly where the United States stands and what specific actions they need to take to allow peace, and we want them to do that.”
In an interview with Fox News that day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that regime change in Iran is not the goal and that the United States is ready to negotiate tomorrow if Iran wants to. However, he made it clear that Iran will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons under any circumstances, saying, “If Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons, I really think that will jeopardize the regime.”
Secretary Rubio explained that Iran has been “trying to play President Trump” in negotiations with the United States so far and that Iran has not shown sincerity in giving up its nuclear weapons, so the United States had no choice but to strike the nuclear facilities.
Senior Trump administration officials have made it clear that the strikes are intended to send a warning message not only to Iran but also to other enemies of the United States not to go against the United States.
“We have shown the world that we have restored American deterrence,” Hegseth said. “When this president speaks, the world should listen.” Rubio said the world must have realized that they should not act like Iran, adding, “President Trump is a president who says what he is going to do and does it, and I think that is shocking to many people, including the Iranian regime.” Meanwhile, some in the political world, both Democrats and Republicans, continue to raise concerns that the United States could end up in a very expensive and long war with Iran.
“The president took a huge gamble,” Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in an ABC interview. “If you look at the history of our military interventions in the Middle East, it almost never ends up as the best-case scenario. In fact, it usually ends up as something closer to the worst-case scenario.”
In an unusual move to criticize the airstrikes within the Republican Party, Rep. Tom Massey said in a CBS News interview that President Trump promised to put America first, but was fighting Iran, which does not directly threaten the United States, and that “we are tired of all these wars.”
On the 17th, Rep. Massey introduced a “war powers resolution” with Democratic lawmakers to require President Trump to get congressional approval before attacking Iran, and criticized the airstrikes, which the president decided on alone, as unconstitutional.
On that day, President Trump posted a long message on the social networking service (SNS) TruthSocial, fiercely criticizing Rep. Massey. “He likes to say he is MAGA (Trump’s core supporters), but he is not MAGA. MAGA
does not want him, does not know him, and does not respect him,” Trump wrote. “MAGA should avoid this pathetic loser, Tom Massey, like the plague.” He continued, “Massie is weak, incompetent, and votes ‘no’ to virtually everything put in front of him, no matter how good it is. He is disrespectful to our great military and everything it stands for and does not even acknowledge the excellence and bravery our military displayed in yesterday’s attack, which was a complete and utter victory.”